Although much has been written about the Tar Heel
State’s Regulator Movement through the years, the debate over whether it was a
true forerunner of the Revolutionary War lingers. While Carole Watterson
Troxler’s new book does not settle the dispute, FARMING DISSENTERS: THE
REGULATOR MOVEMENT IN PIEDMONT NORTH CAROLINA updates and expands the
subject.

Holding its first organized effort
in 1766 and culminating in the battle of Alamance in 1771, the Regulator
Movement originated in the frustrations of North Carolina’s backcountry
inhabitants, most of whom were farmers. (At that time, the “backcountry”
referred to the colony’s interior Piedmont area, where streams were not
navigable by vessels connected to the settlements along the coast.) The
frustrations were threefold: local officials who ran their offices for personal
gain, a complicated land grant system that did not guarantee clear ownership,
and a colonial legislature dominated by the political and economic interests of
the coastal region.

Emphasizing the fact that historical
events do not occur in a vacuum, Troxler explains how the participants’
Scots-Irish and English roots (especially the religious “Dissenter” or
“Nonconformist” culture, which included Presbyterians, Baptists, and Quakers)
affected the outlook and actions of the Regulators. She also includes a broad
range of data about the entire movement, details about the pivotal battle of
Alamance on 16 May 1771, and the repercussions in the aftermath that finally led
to the American Revolution. In addition, she points out that not all Regulators
supported the War for Independence and that many who opposed the Regulators were
in favor of the Revolution. To show readers how perspectives about the
Regulators (for example, were they heroes or a mob?) have changed over time,
Troxler furnishes a bibliographic essay demonstrating how and why the views
mutated.

As she discusses the history of the
Regulator Movement, Troxler reveals how family connections, though sometimes
distant, played a role in land and political dealings. John Frohock of Rowan
County, for instance, was tied to land speculator Henry Eustace McCulloh through
his brother who was a son-in-law to McCullogh’s cousin. The controversial
McCulloh, in turn, was agent and attorney for his merchant father, Henry
McCulloh of London, who held more than one million acres of land in the Piedmont
area. The Alexander, McNitt, and Polk families, who were related by marriage,
held sway over transactions in Mecklenburg County. In Orange County, members of
the Mebane family operated public houses which acted as important communication
centers during the Regulator era. Familial ties sometimes became complicated as
was the case for Regulator Herman Husband of Orange County. For his third wife,
he married Amy Allen, whose mother had married into the large Cox family.
Husband’s first wife had belonged to the Cox family and his second wife was also
related to the Coxes.

Of particular interest to
genealogists is the partial roster of men whose names are found on various
documents pertaining to the Regulator Movement. Although most individuals were
of Scots-Irish or English descent, some German names also appear. Researchers
should be aware that although these men may have sympathized with Regulator
issues, not all of them necessarily took part in Regulator activities. Some
names, like that of James Hunter of Orange County, will be easily recognizable
as participants.

Well-written and organized in an
orderly manner, FARMING DISSENTERS: THE REGULATOR MOVEMENT IN PIEDMONT NORTH
CAROLINA is a scholarly work that manages to tell the story of this
fascinating era in detail and still remain very readable for the general public.
Utilizing excerpts from contemporary records of the period, Troxler strives to
put a human “face” on an important milestone in the colony’s history.
Reminiscent of David Hackett Fischer’s highly touted ALBION’S SEED: FOUR
BRITISH FOLKWAYS IN AMERICA in the way Troxler intermingles genealogy and
history with Old and New World culture and events, the volume is a valuable
research tool. FARMING DISSENTERS will be an asset in any library
collection.

Sporting a reproduction of the
engraving of the battle of Alamance on the front cover, the 221-page paperbound
book contains a foreword, an introduction, a list of 45 illustrations and maps,
two appendices, end notes, a thirteen-page bibliography, and a thorough index of
names of persons, places, and subjects. Priced at $24.97 (which includes tax and
shipping costs), the volume may be ordered online at
http://nc-historical-publications.stores.yahoo.net/ or at
www.Amazon.com. It may also be purchased
through local bookstores or from the Historical Publications Section (R), Office
of Archives and History, 4622 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina
27699-4622. For credit card orders, call 919-733-7442, extension 0.